Apparatus for processing compressed fuel



E. MATIS ETAL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING COMPRESSED FUEL BRIQUETTES AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Aug. 11; 1959 2,899,189

Filed July 22, 1955 Sheets-Sheet l o ii? L E-ll 14 5 I! 38 2:5 38 i I I .1 O Q) b1, l 8 if; I 5 a He 117 4 o 46 15 O I O Aug. 11, 1959 E. .MATIS ETAL 2,899,139

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING COMPRESS FUEL BRIQUETTES AND SIMILAR MATERI Filed July 22, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. '11, 1959 E. MATIS ETAL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING COMPRESSED FUEL BRIQUETTES AND SIMILAR MATERIALS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 22, 1955 Unite States PatentG APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING COMPRESSED FUEL BRIQUETTES :SIMILAR --.MATE- "Ernest 'Matis: and Pierre' DemoIon; Douai, Claude' Nobecourt, Auberchicourty and Ren Henri, Dou'ai; :Francc, zzassignorstto Hou'illeres r du':BassintduzNord'i et flu Pasi de-Calais,- Douai, 4 France, a Frenchzpublicestablishment chemical compositions and at predetermined tempera- ..tures. More particularly .though not exclusively, vthe invention relates to apparatus for processing compressed fuel briquettes as disclosed in the cop-pending I patent application Ser. No. 332',222Tfiled January 21, 1953, and which has issued'as United States Letters Patent'No. 2',805',848,-datedSeptember 10, 1957.

3 Broadly speaking the. above-mentioned patent'di'scloses apparatus of the specified type havinga tunnel in Which .a plurality of treating zones aredfined corresponding tothe successive treating stages of the, process. Atrain of trucks having perforate bottom walls and each bearing aacharge of the material to be'treated areadapted to be movedfithroughthe tunnel over a suitabletracktherein and to be arrested in successive positions so that "the respective charges oft-material are allowed to dwell successively in the treating zonesfor simultaneous. exposure to the atmosphere therein. -'Opening into. eachzoneat an elevation below that. of the. perforate vtruck. bottoms is a gas inlet, and opening fromf the topof eachzone is a gas outlet. A stream ofstreatinggashavinga. respectively predetermined temperature andfchemical compositionftparticularly as regards oxygen content) .isrdelivered intolvthe, inletofeach zone,fforced toYr-ise. up through tthetperforate bottonrof the truck stationed "therein and through the .chargeof material thereonand discharged through the top outlet ofzthe zone. The treating gasfiow for each circuit" thus definedLis provided by a combustionunit outside the furnace which, generates combustion gases, andthese gases are mixed'in a mixing chamber with spentigases dischargedlfrom at least one ofthe tunnel zone outlets prior to theldireotionof'the resulting. mixed gas composition intotheinlet to at least one of-said tunnelzones; and the remaining zone. inlets and. outletsare interconnected according to a selected pattern. i Thus, as disclosed inthe above' identified patent the. treating zones may be'rthree in.numbertand the'flowsheet may be such that the gases fromthe mixing chamber aredirected into'theinlet to the second zone; the "e'flluent gases from the second zone outlet may be directed :into the .first zone inletitogether with make-up air; "the 'eflluent from the first zone outlet maybe cooled and thenildirected toward'the third zone.inlet; and the gas issuing from the third zone outlet may be directed, into "the'mixingchamber for mixing withthe combustion gases -'generated'by the combustion unit. It will be understood 'howeverthat other flows heets'than this may berused.

In order to ensure that in each zone the treating, gas deliveredthrough' the bottom inlet will flow Wholly it through the perforate bottom-plate ofthetrnck and the bed of material thereon without bypassing the latter, se'aling-means extending longitudinally or the-tunnel have into Jaeeprovirl'eti between the- =sides of the tru'cks --andthe "inner side walls of the tunnel; and since 'thetrucksare -mobilef units this sealing problem is ardifiicult oneito solve. "In the prior'system sand seals have been disclosed for this purpose "but this expedient-has not lived up'to expectations in actual practice, since thesandwasso'on scattered underthe combined ettectof the turbulentgas "flow and the displacement of the trucks.

It is therefore an object. of this inventionto'provide an improved sealing structure in each treating zone for :constraining the gas flow; to pass 'wholly'through the charge of material in the zone without substantially bypassing .said material.

Another object 'is to improve the definition of the treating zones within the tunnel, 'and'prevent intermingling "of the respective A gaseous atmospheres asf'beitween adjacent'zones. fllnthis connection'theinvention "provides improved sealing means running'transversely jof thetunnel to seal 01f the adjacent'zonesfrom one lanother while permitting displacement of the'trucks.

A particularly serious sealing problemvarises in connection with theend treating zones of the tunnel, i;e. fthe initial andthe final zones, since each of these zones at one side is in communication with the external atmos- ,phere. Since the circulation oflthegas stream through each zone requires that ;the bottom or inlet region or each zonebe at super-atmospheric pressure .while'the upper or outlet region 'of the zone isatsub-atmospheric pressure, there is a tendency for treating gas to escape outwards from each of the end zones'and for'atmospheric air to penetrate into'these zones. It is an object of 'thisinvention to prevent'this condition.

In addition to'the above specific objects, it is a general objectof this invention'to provideimproved apparatus for subjectingvmaterial to treatments involving exposure of the material in successive treating stages to gases ,of predetermined vchemical composition and at predetermined temperatures.

{With the above objects in view, the invention provides apparatus for treating compressed fuel briquettes and materials of similar character inta plurality of treating steps, which apparatus comprises: a tunnel adapted to have .a plurality of treating zones defined longitudinally therein corresponding to said steps; .gas inlets and outlets extending into and out of. the tunnel transversely thereof rinlthe respective" zones; means'for. conveyingthemater-iail; longitudinally through the, tunnel for simultaneous treatment ofasucces'sive longitudinal-portions'of thema- .terial in the respective zones;v afiow system for circulating treating gases. of predetermined temperatures and compositions. over a plunalityflof separateilow-icirenits eachextendinginto. the, inlet of a zone, through'the, portion of material therein and out of the outlet-,offthe zone; and cooperating: sealing means ton outer walLsuriacesof the conveying means, and inner wall, surfaces of .the tunnel, respectively, foroppOsingfTflow iof gases otherwise than over the respectivecircuits.

Inithe. accompanyingtdrawings:

I Fig. lis across sectional view. of animprovedappara- .tus taken along thelline I.'I.of.' Fig. .2;

Fig 2 is. arlongitudinail sectional (view ofrthe apparatus taken along theline. IIII. of. Fig, 1;

.Figs. 3, and 4. .areffragmentar-y horizontal sectionsiaken along the'lines IIIIII and IV-IV of Fig. LIespeotively;

.Eigr Sisa .crossfsectional viewQsimilatxto aportion of I Fig. 1 though somewhatmoreldiagrammatieincharacter,

and relating to a modified form; and

'Figs. 6 and7 are diagrammatic illustrations showing thetmeans-provided 'forvpreventingthe entry of atmospheric air into the initial'and final zones or sections of theapparatus, respectively.

The furnace structure"shownin Figs. 1' and 2 is generally similar -to that disclosed inthe co-pending application tunnel longitudinally 'trough seal arrangement 32.

Ser. No. 332,222 filed January 21, 1953, and which has now issued as United States Letters Patent No. 2,805,848, and comprises a furnace body or tunnel 1 through which the materials to be processed (e.g. briquettes) are adapted to be passed in the direction indicated by thearrow in Fig. 2. Extending through the opposite side walls of the 7 thereof are a pair of flues 4 and 5.

While the flues 4 and 5 have been shown as forming an integral built-in part of the furnace body 1 it will be understood that they may be formed as separate structures closely adjacent'the sides of the furnace. Means for circulating gas through the furnace sections or zones are illustrated as comprising a blower 25 and conduits 26, 27 and 28 suitably connected with the lines 4 and 5 and provided with flow control means therein.

Arranged for movement within and through the tunnel 1 are a set of trucks 15 each containing a charge 14 of the material to be treated. Each truck comprises a bed plate or base frame 17 having depending extensions in which an axle-and-wheel assembly 19 is journalled for supporting the truck upon a suitable track as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Supported on frame 17 by steel members 18 is a body including a perforate bottom wall or sole-plate 16 and imperforate side walls arranged to extend in close proximity to the respective inner side Walls of the tunnel 1. The trucks further include vertical end members 31. It

will be understood already at this point that the perforate character of the base 16 and the elevated position thereof upon the members 18 will provide for a free circulation of gases as discharged from the fan outlet conduit 21 through the bottom walls 16 and up through the charges of material contained in the trucks.

A gas tight seal is provided between bed-plate 17 and the lowermost area in which the wheel structures 19 of the trucks are located, by suitable sand seals 29. Additional sealing means are provided between the side walls of the tunnel 1 and the upper side portions of the base plate 17 of the trucks, in the form of a yielding sheet steel element 32 shaped as a trough, suitably secured to each tunnel side Wall as by welding and filled in its concavity with a suitable compressible refractory mass 32' such as glass wool or the like. Each trough 32 rests against a side shoulder 17' formed on the bed plate 17, and serves to prevent any possibility of the combustion gases from the fan outlet conduits 21 flowing downwards, but instead forces the gas flow to rise up through the perforate plate 16 and the mass of agglomerate thereon. As an additional precaution, a baflle plate 33 is preferably secured to the bottom wall surface of each fan outlet conduit 21 so as to project inwards towards the side wall of the trucks and diminish the gas pressure acting upon the According to a modified construction, the seal 32 may be arranged with its concave side directed downwards rather than upwards, as shown and, in such case, the additional baflie 33 should be superfluous.

It will be seen that, in Patent No. 2,805,848 mentioned above, a sand seal is provided above the gas inlet and located to prevent upward flow of the gases laterally along the sides of the truck. Experience has shown that this upper seal is subjected to considerable stress due to the turbulent condition of the gases as they issue out of the duct 21, as a result of which the sand particles tend to be scattered and the seal soon loses its effectiveness. To avoid this condition, therefore, it is a feature of the present invention to also provide a flexible type of seal in this last mentioned location.

The improved seal comprises a resilient sheet element 34 seated upon a cushion of glass wool or the like as shown at 35, and having a flat upper section as well as a downwardly projecting inner section overlapping the top of the downwardly tapered side wall of the tunnel, as

clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. Cooperating with the sheet element 34 is a longitudinal member 36 secured to the side of the truck and including an outwardly projecting horizontal bottom flange extending from the perforate bottom wall 16 and a vertical outer web from the upper end of which there extends an inturned top flange which is secured to a side wall of the truck. The bottom horizontal flange of the member 36 engages the flat horizontal upper section of element 34 and provides a tight seal owing to the yielding character of the mass 35 on which the element 34 is seated.

Further in accordance with the invention an additional prevent is provided at the top of the truck, to seal communication between the space defined between the side -wall of the truck and the adjacent side of the tunnel, and

the top gas discharge chamber or hood 23 present at the top of the furnace above the trucks. For this purpose, an outwardly projecting horizontal flange 37 is provided at the top of the truck and extends into engagement with the horizontal upper flange of an S-shaped sheet element 38 having its bottom flange seated on a shoulder of the furnace wall, with an integral web interconnecting both flanges. The spaces between the Web and both flanges of this S-shaped member are filled with a mass of glass wool or equivalent material 40, the entire seal assembly being retained within a channel or casing element as indicated at 39 on the left side of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modified construction of the seal assemblies described above for sealing the top and bottom ends of the spaces defined between the sides of the trucks and the adjacent sides of the tunnel. As shown in Fig. 5, both the top and bottom side seals may be similar and each comprises a channel member 36a embedded in a recess of the furnace wall with its open side directed inwards. A complementary channel member 36b has its web arranged for frictional engagement with the side of the truck and its flanges project into the recess of channel member 36a in sliding frictional engagement with the flanges of the latter member. Spring means such as 360 are inserted in the variable cavity defined by the two cooperating channel members to press both webs away from each other, and the cavity around the springs is filled with a mass (not shown) of the compressible medium previously mentioned herein, such as glass wool. Stop means, not illustrated, prevent the escape of the movable channel member 36b from the fixed member 36a in the absence of any trucks in the furnace.

According to a further feature of the invention, im' proved sealing means are provided for isolating the adjacent longitudinal zones or sections of the furnace in which, as disclosed hereinabove, the material is adapted to be subjected to respective stages of the process. From Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, it is seen that each zone or section comprises two adjacent gas inlet ducts or nozzles such as are indicated at 21, 21 or 21", at the bottom of the section and a single top outlet such as are indicated at 7, 7', 7", and which communicate with the related section through a domed hood such as are indicated at 23, 23', 23". The upper parts of adjacent sections are separated by overhead wall portions 41. In accordance with this invention, a metal plate is secured to the bottom face of each overhead wall portion, and a pair of metal sheet elements 42 depend from pivots 43 carried by each plate and are adapted yieldingly to engage horizontal plates 44 transversely secured to the top of each end wall of each truck. Beneath the plate 44 there is furthermore provided an internesting set of baflle plates 44a, alternately secured to the rear end wall of each truck and to the front end wall of the adjacent truck. Between the end of each baffie 44a projecting from one truck and the wall of the adjacent truck there -is interposed a roll of asbestos of other suitable matterial 44b.

The arrangement last described serves to seal the tops of the spaces defined between adjacent trucks. These spaces have to be sealed because, as already mentioned, it is contemplated that each truck will dwell in a respective section or zone of the tunnel while its charge .of

includes broadly the same components as the auxiliary (right-hand) section in Fig. 6, which components are identified by the same numbers primed. Further description of Fig. 7 is superfluous in view of the above given description of Fig. 6, it being simply noted that the airflow circulated through this endmost auxiliary section may also desirably serve to provide a final cooling stage for the treated material.

While an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it will be understood that variations may be made therein without exceeding the scope of the claims.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for treating carbon agglomerates comprising a furnace structure including walls, a roof and a floor defining a tunnel-like interior and having means therein dividing said interior into at least three longitudinally successive sections, means for conveying the agglomerates to be treated through said longitudinally successive sections of the tunnel-like interior of said furnacefstructure, said furnace structure having a set of inlet and outlet orifices opening into and out of, respectively, each of said sections of the interior for circulating gases through agglomerates present in the related section in directions at right angles to the longitudinal direction of movement of said conveying means, said conveying means having transverse partitions spaced apart in ,said longitudinal direction, means defining gas-tight sliding joints between said transverse partitions and said walls, floor and roof of the tunnel structure effective to isolate the adjacent successive sections of said tunnel- ,like interior from each other when said partitions are located between the sets of inlet and outlet orifices associated with said adjacent successive sections so that the agglomerates in each of said sections are then subjected ..to the gases circulated by the related inlet and outlet said mixing chamber with said longitudinal conduits to circulate treating gases having desired constituents through the sections by way of the related orifices.

2. Apparatus for treating carbon agglomerates comprising a furnace structure defining a tunnel-like interior, said furnace structure having sets of inlet and outlet orifices at locations spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of said tunnel-like interior for circulating treating gases through the latter in directions at right angles to said longitudinal direction, longitudinal conduits extending along said furnace structure and communicating with said orifices to carry treating gases to and from the latter, a train of coupled-together containers adapted to contain the agglomerates to be treated, each of said con- .tainers having side walls and end walls which are spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the distance between successive sets of said inlet and outlet orifices, means defining gas-tight sealing means between the adjacent end walls of successive containers in said train to prevent flow of gas between said adjacent end walls, said train of containers being intermittently movable through said tunnel-like interior and being brought to rest with said end walls disposed intermediate the successive sets of inlet and outlet orifices, and means defining sliding,

gas-tight joints between the interior surface of said tunnel structure and said containers at said end walls of the -outlet orifices communicating therewith and is isolated from the othersections to avoid intermixing within said having perforated bottoms adapted to support the agglomerates and transverse partitions spaced apart in the direction of movement of said conveying means, said fur- -nace structure having a set of inlet and outlet orifices in each of said sections opening into and out of the related section of the interior below said perforated bottoms of the conveying means and above the latter, respectively,

conduit means extending longitudinally along said furnace structure and communicating with said inlet and outlet orifices of said sections, pressure flow means for circulating treating gases through said conduit means to enter said sections at said inlet orifices, pass upwardly through the agglomerates in said sections and leave the latter at said outlet orifices, means for controlling the temperature and composition of the treating gases admitted to said sections at the related inlet orifices of the latter, and means defining gas-tight sliding joints between said transverse partitions of the conveying means and said walls, roof and floor of the furnace structure effective to isolate the adjacent successive sections from each other when said partitions of the conveying means are located between the sets of inlet and outlet orifices associated with said adjacent successive sections, thereby to prevent intermixing, within said tunnel-like interior, of the treating gases circulated through said sections.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3; further comprising means in said furnace structure defining an auxiliary section at least at one end of said series of successive treating sections, said auxiliary section also having a set of inlet and outlet orifices communicating with the interior thereof below said perforated bottoms of the conveying means and above the latter, respectively, pressure flow means operative to induce a circulation of air into said auxiliary section, at said inlet orifice, upwardly through the agglomerates on said conveying means within the auxiliary section and out of said outlet orifice of the latter for establishing relatively high and low pressures within said auxiliary section below and above, respectively, said perforated bottomsof the conveying means, and means for controlling the last mentioned pressure flow means to maintain a positive pressure differential between said 'inlet orifices of the auxiliary section and the next adjabetween'the inlet and outlet orifices of said auxiliary section and the next adjacent end treating section, and

means responsive to said sensing means for regulating said last mentioned pressure flow means.

6. Apparatus as in claim 4; whereinsaid last mentioned pressure flow means includes blower means having its discharge connected to said inlet orifice of said auxiliary section and suction means connected with said outlet orifice of said auxiliary section.

7. Apparatus as in claim 4; wherein said furnace structure has means defining said auxiliary section at each of the opposite ends of said series of treating sections, thereby to prevent treating gas outflow and air I ow 9 from and into the treating sections at the opposite ends 1,541,099 of said series. 2,386,835 2,672,412 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 241,840 Bowen et a1. May 24, 1881 432,485 1,122,879 Drayton Dec. 29, 1914 226,409

10 Barnebey et a1 June 9, 1925 Beatty Oct. 16, 1945 Burrow et a1. Mar. 16, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 7, 1911 Switzerland July 1, 1943 

